You may have noticed it on the road to vacation this summer. A new road sign is multiplying in France. It represents a white diamond on a blue background or a luminous diamond on a black background. This sign indicates the lanes reserved for carpooling. Concretely, only vehicles with at least two people on board are allowed to travel in this lane, but also public transport, taxis and very low-emission cars (with a zero-emission Crit’Air sticker).
A sign indicating the lanes reserved for carpooling
The lane can be reserved for these vehicles continuously: in this case, there is white marking on the ground. If the lane is reserved intermittently, timetables are indicated below the panel, the diamond may also light up when the measure applies.
If you drive in line while you are alone in the car, you risk a fine of 135 euros. “Smart” radars, which detect the number of people in the vehicle, are placed along these lanes. The first fines have already fallen, after a period of tolerance.
Already in Lyon, Grenoble, Strasbourg, soon in Nantes and Rennes
The first diamond panels appeared in September 2020, on the A48 motorway between Grenoble and Lyon. But they are multiplying right now. There are already some in Lyon, Grenoble and Strasbourg, and around these metropolises. The panels are also arriving in the Paris region. Work began this summer in Rennes and Nantes. And others are planned in Lille, Aix-en-Provence and Marseille.
It is the mobility orientation law (Lom) of December 24, 2019 which gave the authorities the possibility of setting up these panels. The objective is to encourage carpooling. According to Ademe, the ecological transition agency, sharing your car allows you to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10% on a crew scale.
3% of carpooling trips
Currently, 8 times out of 10, the home-to-work journey is done solo. All journeys combined, carpooling does not represent only 3% of trips. The government’s goal is to triple the number of shared trips by 2027.
Read also
The 30/09/2020
Opening of the carpooling lane on the A48: “Everyone must learn and progress”
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